Search Results for: soft play

It was a strange sight Thursday – Steve Jobs touting a Windows product. But the chief executive of Apple Computer Inc. had a perfectly sensible motive. In a move to reach the masses who use computers based on Microsoft Corp. software, Jobs unveiled a Windows-compatible Apple iTunes Music Store, an Internet song-downloading service that has proven successful among Macintosh users. But Mac users comprise only about 3 percent of the computer-buying public, and now Apple is entering a market crowded with rival music services for the Windows world. For its Windows launch, Apple managed to pull some exclusive deals that… Read more »

Coming soon to a Windows PC near you: Apple Computer Inc.’s. popular iTunes online music store, which analysts say will join an already crowded market that could mute its chances of repeating the success of the Macintosh-only version. The computer maker is set to unveil this week the long-promised Windows-compatible version of its online music service. Last week, it sent invitations to reporters for an event on Thursday in San Francisco proclaiming, “The year’s biggest music story is about to get even bigger.” An Apple spokesman declined further comment. Yet now, some analysts say that while iTunes for Windows may… Read more »

Nearly a year after software maker Roxio Inc. scooped up the Napster brand from the ashes of the pioneer file-swapping service, a revamped online music store bearing the familiar brand name debuted Thursday in limited release. The company shelved its former online music service, pressplay, and began moving subscribers to a beta, or test version, of Napster 2.0. The service will be available to all in the United States beginning Oct. 29, officials said Thursday. Napster 2.0 users will have access to more than a half-million songs from all the major music labels. They can download individual songs for 99… Read more »

Musicmatch, Inc., the leader in personalized music software and services, today announced its new Musicmatch(R) Downloads service, the first service on the PC that allows consumers to purchase and download music from a broad catalog of music from all five major labels and more than 30 independents – with no complex, restrictive usage rules. The new service offers effortless access to high-quality, personalized music and the ability to purchase while listening to CDs, MP3s and Musicmatch Radio. Musicmatch downloads can be purchased now at www.musicmatch.com. Until today, legitimate PC download services forced people to pay a subscription fee, or required… Read more »

GO-KART RECORDS announce the release of the GO-KART MP300 RACEWAY on November 4th. Not only is this an awesome compilation CD with 300 songs (yes, 300 songs!) from 150 bands, it’s also the FIRST EVER commercially sold MP3 CD. That’s 300 songs from 150 bands (all CD quality MP3s) on two CDs for only $9.99! The story behind the MP300: As reported by IDG (International Data Group), “MP3” has replaced the term “sex” as the most popular search category on the Internet. This reinforces the importance MP3 technology has acquired in recent years, especially since file sharing and p2p (peer… Read more »

The day after Dave Matthews releases his RCA solo debut, “Some Devil,” the Dave Matthews Band will play a benefit show in New York’s Central Park that is expected to draw upwards of 100,000 people. Full details of the Sept. 24 event will be announced Friday (Sept. 12). America Online is sponsoring the show and is using it to hype the newest version of its software, AOL 9.0. The concert, which RCA will tape for an immediate DVD and CD release, will be held on the park’s Great Lawn and will raise funds for the AOL Concert for the Schools!… Read more »

Kevin Richardson hopes others won’t have to follow his path to superstardom. Richardson left his native Kentucky as a teenager for a job at Walt Disney World before auditioning for an Orlando, Fla.-based group that would eventually become the Backstreet Boys. Now Richardson, 31, and childhood friend and songwriter Keith McGuffey have opened a music academy in downtown Louisville. Called The Music Workshop, its a catchall for performers, songwriters and producers seeking a career in music. “When me and Keith were growing up in central Kentucky there wasn’t any real outlet for us. If we wanted to get information about… Read more »

Times are getting ugly in the music world. Fans are getting subpoenaed for digital downloads. Internet Service Providers are getting muscled into handing over suspected pirates’ names. And parents are worried about having to spend their kid’s college fund on defending him for downloading one too many Michelle Branch songs. It seems like no one is winning the amorphous battle over music online. But, contrary to the rising red tide, there are plenty of companies heading into the black. There’s no question that digital music is here to stay. As a result, the companies who will benefit most directly are… Read more »

Anyone who pegs Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carrabba as a sad pompadoured sack based on heartbreakers like “Again I Go Unnoticed” and “Screaming Infidelities” should get ready to change their perception of him. His new album, A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar, portrays the man tagged by many as a poster boy for emo in a mood that contradicts his conventionally accepted disposition. “I’m actually excited about the fact that it’s a happier record,” Carrabba said. “If it dispels those conceptions that I’m like, ultra mopey, that would be great because anybody who’s met me can tell you… Read more »

The Recording Industry Association of America, the trade organization that represents recording artists, labels, manufacturers and distributors, announced yesterday that Mitch Bainwol would replace Hilary Rosen as chairman and CEO of the organization. Bainwol, a former chief of staff to current Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, will assume his new duty on September 1st. Bainwol has no prior experience working in the music industry and will have his work cut out for him. The recording industry has been mired in a monstrous three-year sales slump, and in late June the RIAA announced that it would be targeting individual computer users… Read more »